Reviewed by USGSAlaska18y ago
M2.8 earthquake 41 km ENE of Adak, Alaska
Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 03:28:07 UTC · 51.975°N, 176.060°W
A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck 41 km ENE of Adak, Alaska on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 03:28:07 UTC, at a depth of 229.5 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 2.8
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 230 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 kg of TNT
That is about 1/63,000 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,995 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
140 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
230 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 962 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.61957 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMarch 9, 1957 · 61 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.01986 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMay 7, 1986 · 102 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.977 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaJune 10, 1996 · 117 km W of this epicenter
- 7.65 km WNW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 14, 1905 · 45 km W of this epicenter
- 7.388 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaJuly 7, 1929 · 129 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.346 km SSW of Adak, AlaskaJune 10, 1996 · 77 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2207 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaDecember 19, 2007 · 247 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2238 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaMarch 22, 1905 · 278 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1957M8.6
Alaska
9 Mar 1957 · 61 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M8.0
Aleutian Islands: Adak
7 May 1986 · 102 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1905M7.9
Andreanof Islands
14 Feb 1905 · 222 km away
- 1996M7.9
Andreanof Islands
10 Jun 1996 · 117 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 1996M7.3
Andreanof Islands
10 Jun 1996 · 77 km away
tsunami
- 1971M7.1
Andreanof Islands
2 May 1971 · 101 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.